San Diego  There is no evidence of the nation’s STEM deficit at Lincoln High School this summer.

Science, technology, engineering and mathematics are occupying the minds of more than 700 students from throughout San Diego County at a three-week program sponsored by the National Society of Black Engineers.

“We build solar cars and test them and we learn about science and math. I like it,” said Courvosiea Irby, who will enter the fifth-grade at Porter Elementary School this fall. “When I grow up, I might want to be an engineer or scientist. My second choice is sports, like maybe a football player.”

The free program hires women and minority college students from San Diego, Detroit and Washington, D.C., to teach third- through eighth-grade students basic engineering concepts while stressing all STEM subjects that are increasingly essential when it comes to college and careers. The idea is to expose youth — especially those in poor neighborhoods — to university students and professionals who look like them.

“It’s very important to expose children to engineering, math and science so they know what’s possible for their futures,” said Naomie Crowder, a chemical engineering major at Ohio University who is teaching students in San Diego. “I had never even heard of engineering until I was in sixth-grade and a counselor suggested to my mother that I attend a similar program at Purdue. It changed my life. That’s what I want to do for these kids.”

Crowder is among dozens of out-of-state college students hired as teachers for the program. They are living in San Diego State University dormitories. Another 65 local college students are also working at the camp, along with a handful of San Diego High School graduates.

The mentors earn $2,000 stipends and are trained to teach hands-on lessons that focus on three projects: development of a solar car, fuel cell car and a “steel-can rover” that is powered by rubber bands. After perfecting their projects, the students will compete in a contest at the camp’s culmination on Friday, an event that will be judged by local industry leaders.

The summer program called SEEK — Summer Engineering Experience for Kids — is among 13 held nationwide. San Diego’s is the largest, thanks to partnerships with the San Diego Unified School District, donations from businesses (San Diego Gas & Electric and Solar Turbines both contributed $100,000 to the effort this year) and community groups. The program also feeds off interest from parents, said Grady Gordon, chairman of the San Diego chapter of the black engineering society.

“It’s one of the myths about underserved communities. A lot of people look at them as a group that needs saving. The community wants to mobilize, it just needs the stage or the platform to do it,” said Gordon, an electrical engineer with the Navy.

Schools nationwide are under pressure to get more students interested in STEM as the country seeks to improve its international status in these subjects. President Barack Obama has lamented that lackluster math and science scores are hurting American students. He has called for the recruitment of 100,000 STEM teachers this decade.

Program organizers say the call for STEM leaders is especially important for underrepresented populations.

African Americans represent less than 5 percent of the engineering workforce, yet they make up 12 percent of the U.S. workforce overall, according to the National Society of Black Engineers.

A 2011 study by the U.S. Department of Commerce found that during the past decade, growth in STEM jobs was three times greater than that of non-STEM occupations. The report also predicted that STEM jobs would grow at a faster rate than others in the coming years.

Nikole Opeodu, 12, said the camp has renewed her interest in science and shown her practical applications for her most dreaded subject, math.

“I have always loved science, but I always thought math was hard and complicated and there was no use for it,” said Nikole, an eighth-grader from Chula Vista. “I’m starting to see how it can help you in different jobs.”